Says 2,276 party leaders, activists killed in crossfire, 153 disappeared
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday filed two formal complaints with the International Crimes Tribunal, accusing deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her party colleagues and law enforcement agencies of orchestrating crossfires and enforced disappearances during her 15-year tenure.
The complaints alleged that 2,276 BNP leaders and activists were killed in reported crossfires and 153 others, including prominent BNP leaders Ilias Ali and Chowdhury Alam, were subjected to enforced disappearance between 2008 and August 5, 2024.
BNP leader Salauddin Khan, who coordinates investigations into killings and enforced disappearances targeting BNP members, filed the complaints.
Salauddin acted on behalf of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said a party statement.
Salauddin was accompanied by his lawyer Nurul Islam Zahid.
The complaint on crossfires accused Hasina, also the Awami League president, of ordering AL activists and law enforcement agencies to carry out targeted killings in the name of crossfires.
It said that the killings were intended to create fear among BNP supporters and dismantle the party.
The complaint also asserted that 153 enforced disappearances, labeled as political abductions, were orchestrated during Hasina鈥檚 tenure.
Since the ouster of the AL government on August 5, 2024 in a student-led mass uprising, more 50 cases have been filed with the tribunal against Hasina and her associates on charged of genocide and crimes against humanity for crossfire, enforced disappearance, killing and torture.
On December 30, 2024, the tribunal issued warrants for the arrest of Hasina, her former security adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, and nine others in connection with three complaints of enforced disappearance.
This marked the second warrant issued for the arrest of Hasina by the tribunal since she fled the country for India in the face of the uprising.
The BNP alleged that the killings and disappearances were part of a systematic effort by the Awami League to destroy political opposition and isolate BNP from the public.
The complaints filed on Thursday seek to hold Hasina and other AL leaders accountable for what the BNP聽 describes as 鈥榗rimes against humanity.鈥�
The ICT is now expected to review the evidence and determine whether to proceed with further legal actions against the accused.
